BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

Jobs Now! Learning From The Swiss Apprenticeship Model

Following
This article is more than 6 years old.

This piece was coauthored with Shea Gopaul, founder and executive director of the Global Apprenticeship Network.

American employers have complained for years about a shortage of skilled workers—not only in the traditional trades (mechanics, welders, electricians, machinists, etc.) but in the tech, health care, manufacturing  and service sectors. The current administration aims to close this skills gap by dramatically increasing the number of company-sponsored apprenticeships. There is strong bi-partisan support for this goal. Early in 2017, the president bought into a five million apprenticeship challenge laid down by Marc Benioff, founder of Salesforce. Succeeding in this would boost apprenticeship opportunities a hundredfold and, on a per capita basis, put the U.S. on par with Switzerland and Germany, where the apprenticeship tradition is strong. Those nations have robust and diverse economies, along with strikingly low levels of adult and youth unemployment. And apprenticeships surely contribute to both.

Apprenticeships have been a common feature of work life in Europe since the late Middle Ages. Over the centuries they have offered young people a learning alternative to academic schooling, which was reserved for the wealthy. Even today, with modern primary and secondary educational systems in place, apprenticeships are valued and popular pathway to well-paid careers. Many European employers, large and small, look to their apprenticeship systems as key sources of human talent.

Those apprenticeships are not locked in the past but have kept pace with economic change and the needs of employers. In Switzerland, for example, 70% of high school graduates enter apprenticeships in “new-collar” fields such as IT, banking, healthcare, hospitality and advanced manufacturing. As in Germany, Swiss apprentices are engaged in a dual training system that features two to four years of both classroom instruction and paid on-the-job training under the watchful eyes of skilled mentors. Upon completion, the vast majority is offered full-time positions with the companies that sponsored the apprenticeships.

Young people in Switzerland have the option of entering apprenticeships before completing high school. On the surface, this would seem a bad idea. How is a 16- or 17-year-old supposed to know which life path to choose? However, the flexibility of the Swiss system allows apprentices to change industries, specialize in particular functions, and even pursue university degrees. Thus, apprentices are not pigeonholed into rigid career paths; rather, they are encouraged to explore different fields. It is not surprising, then, to learn that many Swiss managers and executives began their careers as humble apprentices.

To ensure financial sustainability and high quality, the Swiss apprenticeship system, like its German counterpart, is jointly governed and funded by the public and private sectors. Furthermore, cantons (state governments), the federal government, trade associations and companies collaborate closely to design curricula, standards and training programs. Those programs are designed to fill the real needs of modern enterprises, which make them essential talent pools for some of the world’s largest companies such as ABB, Accenture, the Adecco Group, UBS and Nestle among them.

 

What we can learn from the masters

We can learn many lessons from the apprenticeship systems of the Swiss and from other countries as governmental entities and businesses in this country gear up for more skill-oriented training. Naturally, we should not adopt their systems in their entirety but instead adapt their best features to the unique U.S. business-labor environment. For example, most young people in Western Europe leave high school with more solid backgrounds in science and math than do youngsters here; that difference must be accommodated. European executives are comfortable with collaborations that involve themselves, unions and government. U.S. execs, on the other hand, have generally favored more arm’s-length relationships. The U.S., however, has some distinct advantages that can be leveraged. Its infrastructure of two-year community and tech colleges has no equivalent on the other side of the Atlantic. And greater decentralization of power in the U.S. means that some state and local governments can—and do—response quickly to local opportunities. Indeed, recognizing the magnetic power of a highly skilled workforce in attracting new employers, many local entities are demonstrating remarkable creativity and zeal in advancing the cause of apprenticeship training within their jurisdictions. They are not waiting for Washington to get its act together. That’s one of the strengths of the American system.

Some of the very best lessons can be learned from Swiss companies that have expanded operations into the U.S., bringing their training cultures with them. ABB, Accenture, Buhler and Zurich Insurance are examples. These enterprises are demonstrating how the mechanisms of Swiss apprenticeships can be adapted to the American scene. They are taking American people as they are and grooming them for success. They are also forging collaborative relationships with local governments, school districts and community colleges.  Earlier this month, a guide to success models was released, featuring experiences from some Swiss CEOs and US governors, and they highlight options for expanding apprenticeships:

Partners are key. In the whole talent ecosystem in the US between employers, educators, industry groups, local, state and federal governments is a challenge, as this is a new territory for some. Employers must lead these partnerships as they define labor needs and provide jobs.

Buy-in by corporate decision makers. More and more studies point to the dollars and cents benefits for companies that sponsor apprenticeships. Nevertheless, many executives are not sold on the positive ROI argument. They continue to think of training—of any type—as a cost, not an investment. That thinking must change.

Flexibility. A country as vast and diverse as the United States cannot be hamstrung by a single set of apprenticeship standards. We need standards that meet business needs and local capabilities. Setting standards at the state level will take time and will require strategic partnerships and dialogue among key partners. Standards and requirements, as well as registration procedures and program design, must be kept simple for employers if we want to adapt apprenticeship to multiple industries and reach out to all generations. The duration of an apprenticeship also needs to be flexible and respond directly to the real needs of industries.

Status. Too many U.S. parents still buy the notion that an apprenticeship (or another type of skill training) is a "second-best" option for their children. A change in that attitude will alter the supply side of apprenticeships in this country. Instead of employers having to actively recruit good candidates, the best and brightest will beat a path to their doors. Teachers, counselors, and neighbors tell parents that a four-year degree is the only ticket to social and economic success. That conventional thinking is slowly crumbling under the weight of college debt, high dropout rates, and underemployment among many college graduates. In contrast, apprentices earn a two-year degree at no cost, are paid while they learn, have a good job waiting and, in many cases, earn more than their degreed peers. Many go on to earn university degrees and become business owners.

What about automation and artificial intelligence?

There has been much talk about automation and AI wiping out entire categories of employment—from cab drivers to radiologists. If that’s our future, who needs to train apprentices? Yes, automation and artificial intelligence will eliminate many routine, repetitive and rules-based jobs—just as it has over the past 100 or more years. Take a tour of any state-of-the-art auto assembly plant, and you’ll see that the robots are already here in platoons, doing many jobs that people used to do. Look more carefully, and you’ll see that automation has also created many new high-paying jobs in those same plants for people who can program, service and repair those tireless robots. Still others are employed to operate and service computerized testing devices, machine tools, assembly line electronic and hydraulics system and so forth. And how are those plant owners training these specialists? You guessed it: through their apprenticeship programs.

Automation and AI will move forward, led by employers who see the future of work, and supported by personnel trained through apprenticeships; they will help those companies to make the most of their investments. Some companies are already on board. Accenture, for example, is currently partnering with AON and the City of Chicago’s College to Careers Initiative to launch apprenticeships in fields geared to IT and cybersecurity. The company’s recent study, "Harnessing Revolution: Creating the Future Workforce," provides useful insights into the challenge of preparing employees for technological advances.

Expanded apprenticeships in the U.S. can work and will produce amazing results for both American workers and companies if done correctly. Like their German counterparts, many Swiss companies are already transplanting their apprenticeship know-how stateside. In paving the path for the next generation of U.S. workers via apprenticeships, there will be a steep learning curve; there is much to be learned from the Swiss model. But it is not as simple as copying and pasting the Swiss system; it must be crafted to the realities of America today. American companies, government, employees, and educators can make it happen by working together to create jobs for the unemployed and skills for business.

 

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedInCheck out my website